She remembered me. Wow.
I caged her in as I released her hand and my body pressed flush against her own. “I’ve never forgotten you. Not one single day.” Lowering my head further, I brushed my lips across hers so fast she didn’t have time to shove me away. “I’ll be back for you, angel. Every night. You’ll see.”
Bodie was calling my name and I knew something was up. My phone had vibrated my pocket a few times, but I ignored the world to have my five minutes with Trish.
She was gonna be my ol’ lady. She just didn’t know it yet.
Her aura pulsed a little brighter and I smiled a soft and confident grin that proved I was right. Trish Holloway knew it and in her baby blues I saw a woman who needed all that I could offer. If I didn’t have a club to run, I’d have her in the back room on all fours and giving her a taste of what was to come.
“Stay safe, my angel.”
I snagged a pen and receipt that was on the counter and wrote down my number. Placing it in her hand, I wrapped her fingers around the paper.
“Don’t lose it. Put my number in your cell as soon as I leave. Call me if you need anything. I mean it.”
She nodded.
“Gotta go, baby. Duty calls.”
Unable to resist, I pressed another kiss on her lips and let it linger a few extra seconds. She gazed up at me with such hunger, need, and fear that I knew I’d be back every night until she was secure enough to let me take her home. After that, she’d be coming back to the Crossroads.
The club needed to meet her because Trish Holloway was mine.
When I walked out of that bar, I left a piece of my heart behind. The first time a single soul touched that deep inside since the day Keys died. If I wasn’t such a hard motherfucker, I probably would have shed a tear or some shit. As it was, I was gloating all the way to my bike.
That sweet little woman never stood a chance.
Grim returned every single day for a solid week. He was doing a fine job of making me second guess my decision to stay way from bikers. Sure, I was attracted but Moby’s association with his club left a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe it was wrong to lump them both together in the same category. Grim and his club didn’t seem anything like Moby’s. As different as night and day. Didn’t stop me from me from wondering if I could be rushing into heartache and trouble.
Exactly one week later I left the bar as usual at the end of my shift and smirked when I saw the two motorcycles side by side in the lot. Bodie winked as Suraya sauntered his way, all sass and eagerness. Grim ticked his head in my direction.
“We doing this or what, angel? You’re starting to deflate my ego.”
Ha. Yeah, right. You could almost taste the confidence pulsing off his body. He had me and he knew it.
“I’ll agree to a ride home,” I replied haughtily, giving him a serious look. “Nothing else.”
Grim swung a leg over his bike and patted the seat behind him. Get that sexy ass on then, baby. I need to feel you close.”
Quirking a brow, I tried to make my way over as slow as possible so I didn’t betray the fact that his words could literally melt my panties off my body when combined with that deep gravelly voice. Once I was seated, he tugged on my hips until I was right up against him and turned, helping place a helmet over my head.
“Need you safe,” he announced, making sure the strap was secure.
The bike rumbled to life beneath us and I slipped my hands around his waist, holding tight because I wasn’t used to riding one of these death traps. Grim chuckled like he could sense my apprehension and glided from the lot, rolling smoothly over the dip in the curb so that I hardly noticed. The road wasn’t in the best condition either. Old, uneven, and displaying numerous potholes along the path that led back to Hwy 95. I never raised off the seat or felt a single jostle. That man made sure I was so secure if I closed my eyes, I could picture myself floating on a cloud.
Kind of hard not to completely fall in love with him from that alone.
Grim was sweet and attentive. He noticed the little things that another man might not pick up on. When I was starting to shiver in the cooler night air, he pulled over and rolled to a stop, hopping off his seat to reach into his saddlebags. A sweatshirt was pulled free and he insisted that I put it on before we continued down the road.
The wind blew over us as the stars emerged and spread out in a beautiful display. They hung low in the sky and so
bright it felt like you could reach out and touch each one. My hand lifted into the air at the same time a shooting star shot across the Nevada skyline. I was a firm believer that most things weren’t coincidence. Life had a way of twisting its way around and finding the outcome it wanted.
Just like when I was a little girl, I made a wish on that star. A secret one that I wouldn’t reveal to a single soul. Might have had something to do with the biker I was wrapped around.
Grim was far more intuitive than any other guy I’d ever met. His gloved hand lowered and pressed to my thigh before it squeezed. The gesture wasn’t flippant. He saw the same star and I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised if he made his own wish too. He ticked his head toward the sky and confirmed he’d seen its bright streak.
By the time we rolled up on my driveway – and Grim never even asked for the address – I was warm and buzzing with the big biker’s presence. Having him so close, it did something to my insides. My stomach was uneasy. My heart raced. Heat blossomed and grew between my thighs.